National Stock Exchange appoints 20 bankers and 8 law firms to advance IPO plans

NSE IPO plans

The National Stock Exchange of India, which is commonly known as the leading market infrastructure institution in the country, has made a giant stride towards its much-awaited public listing. The exchange has also assigned a huge group of twenty investment bankers and eight law firms in a move that will indicate a certain revival of its long-pending initial public offering plans. It is a major milestone in the relationship of the exchange that has had to wait several years to see its listing ambitions borne out because of a number of regulatory obstacles and historical difficulties.

Strategic legal framework and scale of the appointment

The appointment is on a scale never seen before in the domestic financial scene. The number of book-running managers appointed to lead one transaction in an initial public offering in India has never been as large as in this case. The sheer magnitude of the National Stock Exchange and its importance to the financial system are witnessed in this record number of empanelled merchant bankers.

This relocation is not only a move concerning the logistics of a share sale but also a sign of the exchange’s wish of the exchange to provide a complete coverage of both local and foreign investor pools. The number of advisors alone underscores the difficulty of privatising India’s largest exchange into a publicly traded company.

The list of appointed merchant bankers is composed of a strong combination of major domestic financial giants and renowned worldwide organizations. Some of the Indian investment banks that will guide the process include Kotak Mahindra Capital, ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, and JM Financial.

Other major local participants in these firms include IIFL Capital Services, SBI Capital Markets, Avendus Capital, and Nuvama Wealth Management. Inclusion of these institutions guarantees that the exchange enjoys extensive penetration into the various categories of the Indian investment community, both large institutional clients and retail clients.

Besides the local giants, the National Stock Exchange has invited a number of high-profile international banks to bring an international outlook and experience. The advisory group has incorporated Morgan Stanley India, Citigroup Global Markets India and J.P. Morgan India.

Such international companies are expected to be instrumental in positioning the exchange to foreign investors and negotiating the international financial standards that such a high-value listing would need. The partnership of these twenty separate banking organizations is projected to establish a powerful web of marketing and distribution of the new share sale so that the offering gets the greatest exposure in the global markets.

The exchange has engaged eight law firms to manage the complex legal and regulatory requirements of such a large public listing. The Indian corporate law firms that are revered as legal counsellors to the domestic firm are Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, and AZB and Partners.

Khaitan and Co, Trilegal, and S&R Associates complement it with their legal expertise. As part of their responsibilities, these companies will develop a mechanism that will see to it that the whole process is taken in line with the provisions stipulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and other applicable regulatory provisions.

The National Stock Exchange has also used the services of international law firms to coordinate the cross-border legal issues since the world is interested in its listing. Latham Watkins and Sidley Austin have been engaged to offer global legal advice to make sure the offering is within the international securities laws and will be appealing to foreign institutional investors.

Financial strength and implications of IPO

As of early 2026, the exchange is still leading the diester of the Indian trading environment with an approximate of 25 crore trading accounts and a customer base of 12.7 crore unique individuals. This large number of users highlights the core position of the exchange in the Indian financial ecosystem. On the financial side, the institution is among the most lucrative market infrastructure organizations in the region, which has a solid basis for fundamental valuation.

As per the latest financial reports for the 2025 fiscal year, the exchange has registered a consolidated revenue of ₹19,177 crore, which is a healthy 17% growth over the past year. More notable was the soaring profitability; the exchange is showing a net profit of ₹12,188 crore at the same time.

Such profitability with a positive growth in revenues renders the National Stock Exchange a very appealing offer to prospective investors. The financial performance gives a clear image of a strong and growing business that is ready to take on the challenges of being a publicly listed company.

The initial public offering that is proposed will be of the nature of an offer for sale. This structure suggests that the exchange will not be issuing new capital to finance its own businesses, but rather it will allow the current shareholders the opportunity to partially sell their stakes.

This is a standard practice when it comes to mature and highly profitable institutions that do not need extra liquidity to grow the business but want to offer liquidity to their initial investors. The sale offer will also invite a lot of attention among the institutional and retail investors who have long been waiting to own a part of the largest stock exchange in India.

The renaissance of these listing plans is a significant Dalal Street development. The advisory teams are now officially established, and with them, the foundation is being laid for what could probably be the beginning of new standards in the Indian capital markets. The fact that this huge group of bankers and lawyers has been successfully appointed is the first sign that the National Stock Exchange is on the way towards its aim of becoming an entity that is publicly listed.

Conclusion

The selection of twenty merchant banks and eight legal firms is a high mark in the history of the National Stock Exchange for its original offering. The exchange is providing its transition to the public markets with the finest sort of professional attention by building a team of experts, both domestic and foreign, which has never been assembled in the journey of the financial markets.

When the exchange enters an execution phase of this plan, the financial world will be keen to observe how such a record-breaking advisory team copes with one of the largest corporate milestones in India.

WheelsEye reported a total operating revenue of ₹243 crore in FY25, while maintaining flat losses

WheelsEye ₹243 crore revenue

WheelsEye is a leading software-as-a-service company that provides fleet management services and has survived a period of consistent growth and financial restraint. The firm had a total operating revenue of ₹243.4 crore according to its standalone financial statements released in the course of the fiscal year 2025 ended in March.

This performance is a 17% growth compared to the ₹208.8 crore earned between the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Although the company has been experiencing a slowdown in the overall industry since 2022, these recent numbers are an indicator of a strong recovery in its key business activities.

Primary engine and growth highlights

The logistics technology company that was launched in 2017 has developed an entire ecosystem that aims at simplifying truck booking and fleet management for operators nationwide. Its platform combines different digital tools, including GPS tracking and FASTag solutions, to digitize a traditionally fragmented industry.

The latest financial statements submitted to the Registrar of Companies show that the company is already shifting its user base to high-margin service areas. Through its recurring revenue models and by offering bundled hardware-software solutions, WheelsEye is trying to put in place a more predictable and sustainable financial path in the unpredictable logistics market.

The software subscription services of WheelsEye are what have been driving its financial growth. The 20% growth of revenue in this particular segment in FY25 increased to ₹152.7 crore. In perspective, software subscriptions make up almost 62% of the overall operating revenue of the company.

This move towards a more SaaS-reliant model is a key sign of the maturity of the company, with recurring digital services usually having higher margins and extended clientele retention than one-time hardware sales. The possibility of expanding this segment by a fifth in one year highlights the growing use of digital fleet management tools by truck operators in India.

Besides pure software services, WheelsEye has experienced an increment in the demand for its bundled hardware solutions. The company provides bundle products, which are GPS equipment with licensed software subscriptions to use in navigating vehicles. This software and hardware bundle increased revenues by 32% annually, with a revenue of ₹62 crore in the previous financial year.

This expansion underscores how the company has been able to cross-sell its technical hardware to its current fleet owners who are seeking end-to-end tracking services. The other component of the lead company’s revenue was a combination of FASTag sales, commissions, and other additional operating sources. In addition to the key business activity, WheelsEye was the beneficiary of ₹27.6 crore non-operating income that was mainly comprised of interest on fixed deposits and subcontracting operations that saw the total revenue rise to ₹271 crore.

Expenditure and financial resilience

WheelsEye exhibited a significant level of consistency in its biggest expense category on the expenditure side, employee benefits. In the 2025 fiscal year, the employee benefit costs have been virtually the same, at ₹141.8 crore. In the competitive Indian technology market, the fact that the wage bill remained flat whilst revenue growth was 17% is a clear indication that it is achieving better per-employee productivity and is being disciplined as it grows.

The spending variation was stronger in other business areas. The price of materials, which includes the physical GPS devices that are sold to the customers, increased sharply by 68% and stood at ₹45.7 crore. This growth reflects the 32% growth in the hardware-software bundle revenue segment, where, as more hardware is sold, procurement costs are bound to be higher.

The company was able to identify efficiencies in its technical infrastructure, where IT expenditures have reduced by 7% to ₹12.4 crore. These cost savings on IT, which occur even though the number of users increases and the revenues from the software, are an indication of more effective cloud services and server utilization management. 

The company also used ₹17.3 crore to employ supervisors to oversee its vast logistics business, which is an essential expenditure in terms of ensuring the quality of its services. The most notable feature of WheelsEye FY25 performance is the correlation of increasing revenue with constant losses. The company has been able to enhance its unit economics by maintaining its net losses, along with an increased income of more than ₹34 crore.

Conclusion

The financial performance of WheelsEye in the 2025 fiscal year creates an image of a firm that is in calculated growth. Focusing on the high-margin software subscriptions and keeping a tight rein on staff costs, the company has been able to deliver small double-digit growth in the tough market.

The main problem that the company will need to address as it enters the next fiscal period will be how to translate this top-line performance into a concrete road to profitability, using the current position in the market as one of the leaders in the Indian logistics SaaS market to further streamline its cost structures and diversify its service offerings.

Marbleous secured a ₹75 lakh deal on Shark Tank India season 5

Marbleous ₹75 lakh deal on Shark Tank India

Marbleous is a luxury home decor brand based in Jaipur. Marbleous secured ₹75 lakh in a deal on Shark Tank India Season 5. It is established through the entrepreneurial efforts of Shashank and Ayushi Sharma. The brand has been able to create a distinct niche by incorporating the classic Indian workmanship with a contemporary high-end design aesthetic. The experience on the show led to a major investment transaction that is set to take the brand to a new stage of growth and fame worldwide.

Material fusion and focus

Marbleous launched into the tank with a distinct vision and a range of products that address the long history of stone work of Rajasthan. The founders positioned their brand to be not only a retail company but a gateway between the past and the present of the Indian marble artisans and the needs of the modern luxury global market. Having concentrated on the digital-first strategy, Marbleous has used the D2C business model to appeal to the modern customer who seeks unique and handmade objects that have a story to tell and yet physically belong in a modern house.

Marbleous is centrally concerned with material innovation and craftsmanship. The brand focuses on marble products that are handmade without conforming to the general, heavy appearance of traditional stone decor. Instead, the founders have managed to test with the combination of marble with some other materials like brass, wood, and resin.

This is a combination of materials that make the items of decoration lightweight, elegant, and fit the classic and contemporary interior design. They have a wide product line that encompasses both fancy coasters and vases to advanced serveware, cutlery holders, and other accessories for the table.

It is this design-led innovation that makes Marbleous stand out compared to generic home décor players. The brand focuses on a rapidly expanding market of luxury consumers who prefer to consider attainable luxury by transforming traditional marble art into practical, everyday luxury goods.

They are the category of shoppers that want high-quality looks and materials without the astronomical price tags that have often been linked to heritage luxury brands. The brand is based in Jaipur lets it access to a reservoir of artisans, as all of its products have some form of craftsmanship that is hard to duplicate in a mass production setting.

Strategic deal and rise of the brand

The pitch season five of Shark Tank India was one of the high-stakes moments of Shashank and Ayushi Sharma. Its founders first came into the room with a request of 75 lakh in exchange for 10% of the company.

They presented a solid argument on the scalability of the D2C model and the rising demand in India of design-oriented brands in their local lifestyle market. The pitch emphasized not only the aesthetic value of the products but also the efficiency of its operations and the ambition to create a world brand based on the Indian identity.

The Sharks had been interested in the presentation, but it was Kanika Tekriwal who had eventually perceived the strategic fit with the positioning of the brand as luxury. A deal became a reality after a period of hard negotiation and captures the prospects of the brand as well as the risk-averse but supportive trend in current D2C funding.

Kanika Tekriwal had bid ₹75 lakh as a 20% sale share in the company along with a 2% royalty on the sales until the initial investment of ₹75 lakh is recovered. The founders agreed to this agreement because they knew the partnership would not only be a source of capital, but also a source of invaluable business mentorship and access to a broader luxury network.

An achievement of Marbleous is crucial in the overall D2C startup news in India. It highlights an increasing investor interest in brands with a stronger focus on design and local-to-global stories. Electronics, beauty, and apparel have been a major part of the D2C space in India over the years.

The emergence of a new category of brands, such as Marbleous, reflects that home decor and lifestyle will be the next area that can be developed at a major rate. Investors are also appreciating the idea that Indian consumers are past the functional purchases and now tend to place their focus on brands that provide a sense of identity and quality craftsmanship.

This transaction signifies the maturity of the D2C supply chain and digital-native business model in India. The strength of the brand that is well-knit is enabled by the fact that Marbleous has the chance of selling online without going through the barrier of traditional retail.

This responsiveness is a characteristic of the new generation of D2C startups emerging to apply technology to introducing India to a modern economic center of its traditional skills. The brand, by concentrating on a particular niche market- luxury marble decor, has shown how specialized players can create high-value businesses by maintaining their core craft and adapting to the digital consumer trends.

Conclusion

The success of Marbleous in Shark Tank India Season 5 deal that was worth ₹75 lakh is evidence of the effectiveness of integrating tradition with a contemporary business model. Shashank and Ayushi Sharma have managed to prove that the traditional Indian marble art can be redesigned in the eyes of the global community as D2C focused.

The brand, supported and guided by Kanika Tekriwal, is in a good position to increase its presence and further its mission of providing handmade luxury to households throughout India and the rest of the world. With the D2C market in India still in its development phase, Marbleous can be considered a bright example of how the design-centered innovation and adherence to the quality of life can lead to not only commercial prosperity but also artisanal continuity.

India plans for a proposed allocation of approximately $1 billion fund to support local chipmaking

India is also developing its second giant round of semiconductor incentive program and is set to propose an allocation of about $11 billion (approximately ₹91,000 crore). This is a bold financial initiative that is set to be built on the momentum of the original $10 billion incentive package, which was introduced at the end of 2021.

The relocation is a long-term strategic change since the government aims to make India the global electronics manufacturing and design hub. Although the initial step was to attract large anchor investments, this new incarnation, which is commonly known as Semicon India 2.0, is meant to expand the scope of the domestic industry by filling in key gaps in the supply chain and creating a more holistic manufacturing landscape.

Strategy and primary objective

The timeline of this proposal is important because the original $10 billion fund has already invested much in several high-profile projects. Some of the notable investments that have used the first round of funding are a gigantic fabrication facility by Tata Electronics in collaboration with PSMC in Taiwan, and a number of Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test plants by leading industry players such as Micron and CG Power.

As the initial source of funds is almost drained due to these massive undertakings, the government understands the need to have a new budgetary allocation to ensure that the gains achieved are not derailed. The new $11 billion fund should be the financial runway that attracts the next semiconductor giants and domestic heroes in the world.

The main aim of the proposed fund of $11 billion is to shift the high-level manufacturing and testing processes to a more integrated and self-sustainable ecosystem. The next stage of the program is likely to place a strong emphasis on supporting the ancillary industries that are critical in semiconductor production.

This involves the importation of specialized businesses that supply high-purity chemicals, gases, and advanced manufacturing equipment. Through such incentives to the mid-stream and up-stream players, India seeks to minimize the logistical complexities and costs related to the importation of key material, hence making its chip production in the country more competitive in the international scene.

The policy of the government in this second fund is to make the semiconductor industry not merely a group of isolated factories but a flourishing system of interrelated suppliers. Such an integrated strategy is a prerequisite to long-term sustainability as chip production needs a highly specialized and local supply chain.

The new policy intends to offer fiscal assistance to component manufacturers and raw materials providers with a view to establishing a plug-and-play country-based environment for international firms planning to diversify their manufacturing bases beyond traditional centres. This is the shift in the policy of industry in India; the emphasis on the so-called ecosystem instead of on the fab.

Proposed funding and financial support

The extension of the aggressive fiscal incentives is an important aspect of the proposed $11 billion scheme. It is highly probable that the government will continue with the current system of offering up to 50% in terms of the project expenses incurred in establishing semiconductor fabs and display units.

This degree of subsidy has been a determining aspect in the competition with other countries that are also competing on semiconductor investments by use of similar legislative structures, including the CHIPS Act in the United States and other programs in Europe. The alignment of these international benchmarks is making India an appealing substitute to companies that are trying to avoid geopolitical risks.

The new fund will likely have certain research and development responsibilities and talent development responsibilities provisions. Semiconductor is also one of the most research-intensive industries, with a continuous flow of innovation necessary to maintain the pace with narrowing node sizes and more and more processing power.

This suggested allocation would probably allow academic-industry partnerships so that the Indian workforce is proficient in the extremely specialized skills needed to work in advanced clean rooms and create sophisticated integrated circuit designs. The two-fold emphasis on capital-intensive production and knowledge-intensive design is supposed to produce a balanced and stable technological industry.

The general aim of the $11 billion proposal is to ensure Indian strategic autonomy in the digital era. In a world where smartphones and cars, and defence systems and AI, depend on semiconductors, the economic and security of the world depends on a few global suppliers, especially those operating in geopolitically sensitive areas.

India would create its own chip-making capacity, a move that would help it protect its supply chains against world shocks and geopolitical tensions. This is a part of the wider program of Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India, which aims to enhance domestic production and limit importation expenses.

The proposed fund is also a crucial move in achieving the Indian objective of being the leading multi-billion dollar electronic production nation by the close of the decade. With the domestic market of electronics in the country increasing, the availability of a local source of chips will be a huge multiplier in the economy.

The income obtained through such facilities, as well as the jobs of high value developed, will help boost the national GDP considerably. Although the proposal has yet to be finalized and it has not been formally accepted by the cabinet yet, the momentum behind its launch is indicative of a steady and undeterred desire to make India a key and permanent participant in the global semiconductor industry.

Conclusion

The proposal of the new $11 billion semiconductor fund is a continuation of the boldness of the Indian technology aspirations. The second phase in incentives is a continuation of what the first phase of incentives established, and the government is showing that its move into the semiconductor space is not merely a fad, but a strategic priority.

The proposed investment is meant to serve the complicated requirements of the industry, including the raw material supply chain, high standards of wafer making, and elite research. As India gets ready to launch Semicon India 2.0, the point of focus is to establish a sustainable, self-reliant, and internationally competitive electronics ecosystem.

R for Rabbit doubled its operational growth with revenue crossing ₹250 crore in FY25

R for Rabbit ₹250 crore revenue

R for Rabbit is among the top direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands of baby products, which demonstrated a strong growth trend over the past two fiscal years. According to its latest consolidated financial reports, which were received by the Registrar of Companies, the firm has nearly doubled its level of operations in a short period of time.

R for Rabbit made a revenue of ₹128 crore in the fiscal year ending in March 2023, although this has since risen to approximately ₹250 crore in the current 2024-25 fiscal year. This tremendous growth highlights the fact that the brand can enjoy a huge share of the dynamic baby care market in India and, at the same time, be disciplined on its bottom line.

Financial performance and expansion

The financial performance of the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) is also remarkable, with the revenue of operations being ₹251 crore. This is a significant growth of 47.6% per year as compared to the 2023-24 fiscal year of ₹170 crore.

The revenue base of the company is still single-folded as the sale of products is the only source of income. This expansion is a credit to the growing strength of the brand in its market and its ability to scale its business model in a competitive retail market.

R for Rabbit is a company established by a husband and wife, Kunal and Kinjal Popat. R for Rabbit has developed a niche in which it provides a broad range of childcare necessities. They have a wide range of products, including strollers, car seats, high chairs, and a number of other safety-certified products that cater to modern parents.

In its offline presence, the brand has managed to create a strong omnichannel network with more than 3,000 channel partners nationwide. This large presence has enabled the company to cater to a large number of customers who now serve well above 5 million parents, serving as a household name in the high-end of the baby gear market.

Even as the top line of the company has recorded remarkable gains, the price of attaining the scale has also increased accordingly. In the case of R for Rabbit, the material cost is the highest expense, taking 62% of its overall expenditure.

These material expenses doubled to 30% in FY25 to ₹155 crore, which is in line with the growth in production and volume of sales. These raw materials and inventory expenses have been essential in terms of the company being able to maintain its high growth rate without losing control of its operational framework.

The company also increased spending in other areas of the business as it expanded. The expense of employee benefits also increased by 37.5% in the same time frame, indicating the necessity of a major team to operate the expanding business and offline alliances. Marketing and advertising costs increased tremendously by 60% per annum, amounting to ₹24 crore in FY25.

This intensive brand visibility has evidently contributed significantly to the growth of revenue by 47.6%. By including other overheads like freight, legal expenses, auditing, and miscellaneous expenses, the overall spending on the firm was ₹252 crore, which is 48.2% higher than that of the previous year.

Operational efficiency and strategic funding

Although the overall spending has increased by a considerable margin, R for Rabbit has managed to keep close to a break-even point. The company has shown a slight decrease in net loss of just ₹14 lakh in FY25, and this is a major milestone given the magnitude of expansion it has witnessed.

At the unit level, the company is efficient since it took around ₹1 to bring in each rupee of operating revenue in the previous fiscal year. This signifies a high degree of operational discipline, and expansion is being driven by sales as opposed to burn.

The financial health of the company is further emphasized by the key performance ratios and asset management of the company. ROCE of the period was 9.53%, whereas EBITDA margin was 2.33%.

The current assets and current liabilities of R for Rabbit are ₹115 crore and ₹12 crore, respectively, as of the end of March 2025. Such figures indicate that the company is holding a consistent financial base despite the aggressive nature of its pursuit to control a major market share.

In its growth endeavor, R for Rabbit has raised about $32 million in funding. This has involved a major Series B round of primary and secondary capital that has valued the company at approximately $100 million.

This was an especially significant round in that it offered an exit to the early investors and introduced growth capital to power further growth. The approach that R for Rabbit has adopted, as opposed to most other D2C brands that have been extremely active in the use of venture capital to cover enormous losses, has been described as stable scale and controlled spending.

Conclusion

The experience of R for Rabbit in the previous two years can be used as a reference point for capital-effective expansion in the D2C market. The company has proven that safety-certified baby products are in high demand in India by almost doubling its revenue and achieving the mark of ₹250 crores in FY25.

Although the company incurred a slight loss this year, it has been able to maintain proximity to break-even as it grows at a rate of almost 50% per year, which is a measure of how well disciplined the founders have been in their execution. With the Indian baby care market still in the stages of a shift to branded, quality-oriented products, R for Rabbit has a powerful omnichannel approach and diversified portfolio that will enable it to be successful in the long term.

Slice appoints former SBI executive Sreedevi Pillai to its Bank Board as an Independent Director in a Non-Executive capacity

Sreedevi Pillai joins Slice Bank board

Fintech unicorn Slice has appointed Sreedevi Pillai to the Bank Board. Pillai is a renowned former executive of the State Bank of India and comes to the firm as an Independent Director in a Non-Executive position. It is a strategic acquisition at a critical moment as Slice transitions from a high-growth consumer fintech startup to a fully regulated banking entity.

Having recruited a veteran who has a strong background in traditional banking and risk management, Slice is sending a message that it is going to establish a strong and transparent financial institution capable of surviving in the complexity of the modern Indian regulatory environment.

Integration and appointment

Sreedevi Pillai’s appointment deserves to be mentioned, especially because of her long-term experience in the basics of Indian banking. The most experienced leader in the State Bank of India, having a total of 36 years of leadership experience, most of which was with the State Bank of India, Pillai has led some of the most important functions in the largest lender in the country.

The experience she had as the Chief General Manager of Risk Management at SBI gave her an extensive perspective of the weak points of the banking industry and the safety nets that need to be implemented to cushion the company and its clients. She is highly skilled in many critical areas, such as operational risk management, fraud prevention and monitoring, and enterprise and group risk management in different bank entities.

The ability of Pillai to develop advanced fraud detection systems is one of the most remarkable points in her career. Under her leadership at SBI, she spearheaded efforts that saw the institution become among the pioneering large commercial banks in India to implement large-scale advanced fraud monitoring capabilities.

This is projected to be an invaluable experience for Slice, which works within the fast-paced and highly digitized fintech arena, in which the challenge of fraud prevention is always a pressing and ongoing challenge. Her knack for complex risk protocols into scalable operational practices is thus likely to be a pillar in internal governance of Slice as it tries to expand its product offerings to a broader and more diversified population.

Based on company statements, the move to include Pillai on the board is a direct result of Slice’s intention to enhance its institutional governance. As it embarks on its long-term growth targets, the company has made the development of a risk framework that is prudent and flexible its priority.

The company plans to merge Pillai’s decades of experience of Pillai with the technology-centric approach of Slice to generate a hybrid model of the banking system, which is as reliable as traditional institutions and as agile and user-friendly as a modern fintech application. This convergence is meant to result in an ethos of responsible finance, which is gradually becoming the new gold standard in the Indian financial sector.

Stated goal and leadership expansion

The growth of the board completes other key changes in the leadership of the organization. Only a month ago, Slice made the founder of the company, Rajan Bajaj, to be the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company. A new position of MD and CEO would be the officialization of his authority as the company confronts the reality of the post-merger reality since Bajaj had served as the Executive Director.

Since Bajaj established Slice in 2016, the company has gone through several stages of its development until the 2024 merger with the North East Small Finance Bank. This merger is what technically made Slice a fully functioning banking company, which was legal now and could compete more directly in the wider financial services market.

Sreedevi Pillai has been a board member, and this is likely to offer a crucial check and balance to the executive team of leaders. Pillai also stated that she was closely aligned with the bank’s vision of creating an inclusive and transparent platform. She reported that the dedication to a digitally oriented banking experience is in line with the changing nature of finance in this nation.

She mentions that the reason she was brought in was to collaborate with the leadership team to add to a culture of healthy governance and sustainable growth. This working partnership between experienced banking professionals and technological entrepreneurs is perceived to be one of the primary contributors to the strategy of Slice to retain its competitive advantage and still comply with the stringent regulatory practices.

Conclusion

Sreedevi Pillai is a new member of the Slice Bank Board, a complex fusion of old-fashioned banking knowledge and new financial technology. Since Slice is still developing as a regulated entity, the incorporation of an Independent Director who has had 36 years of experience in the largest bank in the country speaks volumes of maturity. This action satisfies the twin requirements of remaining fast digital innovators with the risk and governance frameworks that are of the highest quality.

The reinforced board and a distinct leadership design under Rajan Bajaj have put Slice in a better position to achieve its aim of developing a transparent, inclusive, and sustainable banking platform. With the boundaries between fintech and traditional banking increasingly shifting, the future of the Indian financial environment will probably be defined by the success of such leaders as Pillai in connecting the two worlds.

Emversity announced the buyback of ₹6.5 crore ESOPs from 20 employees

Emversity ₹6.5 crore ESOP buyback

The innovative higher-education platform of Emversity, devoted to embedded education and employability, has achieved a major milestone in its company journey recently. Officially, the company announced the buyback of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) shares estimated at ₹6.5 crore.

This strategic initiative was uniquely developed to bring liquidity to its employees, which represented a significant wealth generation event for the concerned individuals. Through launching this buyback, Emversity becomes part of an exclusive club of young startups that have focused on rewarding their initial supporters with concrete financial benefits, a culture of collective success, and long-term commitment.

Liquidity programme and operational footprint

The liquidity programme was designed to favor a particular group of talent in the company. The buyback was offered to be extended to 20 employees, including the current and former team members, as per the information presented.

The scale on which Emversity is operating is quite impressive, considering that it has been in the market relatively recently. The HR leadership of the company states that the organization has rapidly expanded to employ over 700 employees. This domestic expansion is accompanied by a wide physical and online coverage in the country.

Emversity delivers training programs through 60 different locations spread across 24 states in India and covers its specialization training programs. This extensive network enables the platform to cover a wide population of learners, making vocational and job-specific training accessible to countries that might have been unreachable by this type of training in the past.

Within the short period of its operation, the platform has scaled its learner base to about 4,500 people in 40 different campuses. Such fast-rising usage of its services underscores the high need for education that has a direct correlation with employment results.

Emversity is working on the most urgent workforce shortages in particular sectors by concentrating on building predictable talent pipelines. The programs of the company are carefully prepared in consultation with employers to ensure that the skills that are being imparted are precisely the ones needed in the market, and hence, the graduates of the company can be employed easily.

Founding vision and strategic focus

Emversity is under the parent company Beyond Odds Technologies, which was launched in April 2024. Vivek Sinha is the founder of the venture, who contributed to it with considerable experience in the industry as the former Chief Operating Officer of Unacademy.

The startup started with a well-established background, raising an initial $11 million in the first seed round with several large venture capital companies, such as Matrix Partners India, which currently operates under the name of Z47, and Lightspeed. This was then accompanied by a pre-Series A round, which involved the infusion of another $5 million into the company with the support of Lightspeed and Z47.

Its most recent funding success has also helped to strengthen the financial base of the firm. The ESOP buyback immediately succeeds a tremendous Series A round of Premji Invest, amounting to $30 million.

The capacity to complete a ₹6.5 crore buyback within such a short period following such a significant financing round is a pointer that Emversity is financially stable and is sure of its future growth path. This institutional support has offered the requisite launchpad to the company to multiply its employer-based skill centers and upgrade its technological infrastructure.

One of the distinguishing factors of Emversity is its niche orientation in areas where the economy is in need of talented workers. The brand is presently sponsoring positions in the healthcare and hospitality industries. The company operates in conjunction with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), through its employer-based skills centers. This kind of partnership will make sure that the training offered is of national standards and is acceptable by the industry bodies, and this is a way of even adding value to the certifications that learners have obtained.

The effectiveness of this intensive strategy is seen in the success of its students in placements. The learners of Emversity have already been placed in major hospital chains and hotel groups to occupy key positions in allied healthcare, nursing, and hospitality management.

By closing the divide between old-fashioned education and the demands of the industry sector, Emversity is not only helping individuals forge meaningful careers, but it is also aiding large-scale corporations in receiving a stable stream of trained talent. This embedded training model will make sure that the training is not only academic but is carefully woven with the realistic needs of the contemporary workplace.

Conclusion

Emversity’s ₹6.5 crore ESOP buyback is a key milestone of the maturity of the company and its devotion to employees. The company has ensured that success in startups is a group effort by offering liquidity to 20 of its original team members. Having the support of heavyweight investors such as Premji Invest, Lightspeed, and Z47, and having a clear operational focus in high-demand fields, such as healthcare and hospitality, Emversity is already in progress in transforming vocational training in India.

The employer-linked model of education owned by the company, as it keeps expanding its campus network and learner base, is a crucial tool to meet the employability issues that the nation is facing while compensating the very individuals who contribute to the creation of the platform.

NPrep secured $1.5 million in its seed funding round led by Lumikai

NPrep $1.5 million funding

NPrep is an AI-based nursing exam preparation application. NPrep secured $1.5 million in its seed funding round. Lumikai led this seed funding round. There were other investors and significant stakeholders involved in the funding round. NPrep was founded by Prince Kaushik, Utkarsh Paliwal, and Gourav Khurana, who are all graduates of the renowned AIIMS Jodhpur. 

Fund utilization and foundation

The aim of the firm was to give nursing students and professionals a well-organized, technology-based route. The founders have created a platform that is not limited to traditional rote learning by utilizing their expertise in their domain of knowledge in medicine and the difficulties inherent in the nursing curriculum. The new funds will be allocated to scaling the AI-powered learning infrastructure of the startup, increasing its collection of exam-oriented material, and increasing its coverage to nursing candidates throughout India who hope to be both a government and an international healthcare provider.

The graduates end up in positions in the hospital as privates earning about ₹20,000 per month, but passing the government nursing entrance examination may result in a salary of about ₹1 lakh per month. In spite of this huge motivation, the training on such high-stakes tests had traditionally been controlled by traditional offline training facilities or fixed digital materials such as simple PDFs and non-interactive recorded lectures.

NPrep defines this absence of custom, quality preparation tools as a significant obstacle. The platform of the startup will help close this gap by providing an interactive and video-centric learning platform that meets the needs of nursing aspirants in particular.

The founders purport that the existing test preparation market in this industry is mostly a one-size-fits-all type of market, and many students are unable to receive the much-needed competitive exam clearance with a student-focused approach. With a digital option that is not only convenient but also efficient, NPrep is poised to enable a huge portion of the workforce to realize higher income potential and career security.

Core and focus of NPrep

The fundamental success behind NPrep lies in its advanced combination of artificial intelligence and interactive media. The platform has more than 1,400 hours of exam-relevant original video material, which is structured to attract the students more than the passive texts.

The fact that Lumikai has chosen to lead this round serves in line with their overall investment thesis, which is that interactive mechanics and AI-led personalization can enhance user engagement and retention. Using such principles in vocational training, NPrep establishes feedback mechanisms that enable the students to see their progress in real-time.

The platform employs an AI Mentor and performance analytics to assist students with the help of adaptive learning paths. These tools assess the strengths and weaknesses of a student and provide a personalized study plan and curated questions according to the past data on exams. This is a much more effective way of doing things as opposed to the traditional methods, since learners are at least able to put their energies into the areas that they are in need of the most.

In less than ten months since its release, NPrep has already experienced phenomenal growth, with more than one hundred thousand nurses in India already using the platform. These customers have already spent over six million minutes of video content and answered an impressive 31 million practice questions, and show just how much contemporary skilling tools are in demand in this industry.

NPrep does not limit itself to the domestic market. Though the short-term focus is on expanding its presence in India and assisting nurses to get the highly prized government jobs, the startup is also ready to assist the candidates in the world’s healthcare jobs.

The global nursing talent shortage is increasing, and Indian nurses are marketable in places such as North America, Europe, and the Middle East. NPrep intends to enhance its programs to cover training for international certification exams, including the NCLEX, so that Indian nurses can open up to high-paying jobs in foreign countries.

Conclusion

The $1.5 million seed funding round by NPrep is evidence of the disruptive potential of AI and interactive media in the vocational education sector. The startup is making a difference in the systemic issue of millions of nursing students in India by abandoning the idea of fixed learning and creating a more customized and video-oriented approach.

NPrep has sufficient resources to close the education-employment gap with the support of its AIIMS-trained founders and the strategic support of Lumikai and other experienced investors. With the expansion of the startup into international exam preparation and the implementation of AI mentor on a larger scale, the startup is poised to make a significant contribution to the empowerment of the upcoming generation of healthcare professionals in India and globally.

Former Union Health Secretary C.K. Mishra joins Practo as an independent director

CK Mishra joins Practo

Practo has formally announced the addition of former Union Health Secretary C.K. Mishra to its board of directors. Mr Mishra also has a rich experience of almost forty years of serving the people in the form of public service. He joins the digital healthcare platform as an independent director. This appointment will be a milestone in the growth of Practo as it has been growing its technology-based healthcare infrastructure not only in India but also internationally.

Challenges and leadership

C.K. Mishra is a renowned retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service with a service of more than 37 years. His life in the area of work has been marked by high leadership positions in various sectors during his tenure in the public service, including health, environment, education, industry, and power.

As the Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he was in charge of facilitating giant national health programs and overseeing some of the most complicated of national health systems in the country. His high level of knowledge of the complexities of large-scale infrastructure governance is likely to be one of the foundations of the future Practo strategic orientation.

Having Mr Mishra on board is an indication that Practo is dedicated to the creation of a robust and well-managed platform. The company said that Mr Mishra has a rich history of developing and sustaining public health systems and will be of invaluable help to Practo as it grows.

The issues related to the expansion of a digital platform that connects hundreds of thousands of providers to millions of patients necessitate an elaborate governance and policy approach. The leader has experience in the public sector at the top level, which gives Practo a distinct view on how to merge technology with the delivery of healthcare on a large scale.

The inclusion of C.K. Mishra on the board is a wider trend of reinforcing the leadership team of Practo. He is accompanied by other new board members who have been appointed recently, such as TVG Krishnamurthy and Alexander Kuruvilla.

These leaders will ensure that the company attains platform resilience in the long term. The combination of the experience of both the state and the corporate world demonstrates that Practo has plans beyond becoming a mere digital service provider and evolves to be a layer of the global healthcare infrastructure.

Global footprint and technology-driven ecosystem

To Mr Mishra, becoming part of the board is a chance to work in a direction that prioritizes being connected and efficient via digital innovation. His approval of the Practo neutral position is salient, especially in a sector where data openness and reliability are core values to success in the long term.

Practo is founded on this same concept of connectivity. The platform was founded in 2008 by Shashank ND, and it has since grown to find matches to over 700,000 doctors and healthcare providers. Through these links, Practo has brought good medical advice nearer to the masses. Its influence goes much further than its consumer-facing application.

Insta is a holistic hospital information management system that is one of the greatest contributions of this company to the medical field. The technical flexibility and departmental flexibility of the platform are evidenced by this system currently being used by more than 500 customers over 1,200 facilities in the world, which proves the international nature of the platform.

The presence of the Insta system across the globe shows the aspiration of Practo to be a technology-driven healthcare infrastructure globally. Practo is enhancing care quality in hospitals by offering its tools that could assist hospitals in better managing their operations.

When the company is expanding this division of its business, the governance experience provided by its board members, such as C.K. Mishra, becomes more critical. To expand internationally in various regulatory environments and healthcare markets, a rigorous approach to corporate strategy and a strong understanding of the social consequences of medical technology are essential.

The firm is optimistic that the new persons added to the board will be instrumental in making certain that its development is sustainable and in tandem with international best practices. With the world’s adoption of digital solutions to address the traditional challenges of access and affordability in healthcare systems, Practo is establishing itself as a trusted partner.

This is a strategic combination of the professional knowledge in government policies and the innovation of the private sector, which Practo is optimistic that will enable it to create a more sustainable and accommodating healthcare system for all its stakeholders. With Practo helping link patients and healthcare providers via the network of technology-driven ecosystems, the wisdom of experienced leaders, such as Mr Mishra, will be needed to guide the intricacies of the global healthcare sector and create a more sustainable technological backbone in the years ahead.

Conclusion

C.K. Mishra’s appointment to the board of directors at Practo as an independent director is a clear sign of the changing maturity of the company and its long-term vision. With 37 years of experience in the realm of governmental service and the top-tier knowledge of the national health interventions, Practo is boosting its resolve for high-quality corporate governance and infrastructure advancement. This step not only helps strengthen the company leadership but also increases its capacity to scale its integrated healthcare platform globally.

OpenCFO secured $2 million in its debut institutional funding round led by Endiya Partners

OpenCFO $2 million funding

OpenCFO is a growing AI fintech company. OpenCFO has recently raised $2 million in its debut institutional funding round. This is a major capital injection led by Endiya Partners. Endiya Partners is a leading venture capital firm that is renowned for supporting innovative technology firms.

A variety of angel investors who were situated in the United States and India also participated in the funding round. This early fundraise will be a critical milestone in the startup as it attempts to reorganize the workflow of mid-market companies to handle complex financial workflows with the strength of artificial intelligence.

Core and primary objective

The main aim of this investment of $2 million is to make the company faster in terms of its growth and technical capacities. OpenCFO plans to use the proceeds to grow its engineering workforce substantially, and it will have the talent to develop and optimize its advanced technology stack.

One of the primary focuses of the newly expanded team will be the faster creation of special automation agents that are appropriate for complex financial processes. The capital will also be used for mass customer acquisition in the growing global markets such as the United States, India, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada.

Prudhvi Rao Shedimbi and Sankalp Singayapally are the founders of OpenCFO. The vision of OpenCFO was to create an AI-native financial operations platform that would be specifically oriented towards the mid-market companies.

These corporations are not necessarily large companies. They are large and thus can have a complex and global operation. They do not have the enormous resources of enterprise-level corporations to make the operation as effective as possible. OpenCFO is a solution to this disparity as it provides an all-in-one, unified system that automates and streamlines central financial activities.

This platform is also meant to bring together traditionally siloed departments and functions, namely, the accounts payable, accounts receivable, and treasury processes. OpenCFO enables finance teams to provide a comprehensive view of the financial condition of their organization by integrating these essential parts into one system. The platform itself is operated by sophisticated AI agents that can serve as smart assistants and perform repetitive and data-intensive tasks at the speed and precision that can only be achieved through manual systems.

Seamless integrations and operational focus

The capability to build a financial ecosystem is one of the best aspects of the OpenCFO platform. This is done by integrating different Enterprise resource planning systems, banking, and payment networks seamlessly within the firm. Such a high degree of integration makes it possible to automate the key finance functions that were once time-consuming and liable to human errors.

Some of the key activities that the platform automates include processing and reconciliation of invoices. Its ability to connect to the banking systems directly can follow the payments in real-time and automatically match them with the respective records, which will decrease the level of manual labor that is needed by the accounting teams.

OpenCFO offers powerful cross-border payment and treasury solutions. The capabilities can be considered as necessary in modern mid-market corporations that run their activities across more than one jurisdiction and address various currencies and international financial regulations.

The practical applicability of the technology of OpenCFO has already been proven in pilot projects carried out in the real world. These preliminary tests can suggest that the system can bring realistic financial benefits to its users.

This platform has demonstrated the ability to save companies a lot of money in terms of foreign exchange expenses, which is a significant source of pain to the companies involved in international trade. The pilots demonstrated that there is a significant decrease in settlement time of international payments to enable the businesses to maintain better liquidity and predictable cash flows.

OpenCFO is also a dual-presence operation model, operating in the United States and India. This geographical location will enable the startup to access the technological capabilities and market prospects of two of the most vibrant economies in the world.

The company has remained firm in its focus on mid-market firms that are operating in global business. OpenCFO is making itself an indispensable ally to the contemporary globalized enterprise by equipping these companies with the mechanisms to streamline their cross-border treasury operations and automate their back-office finance functions.

Conclusion

The $2 million round of funding, which was led by Endiya Partners, provides OpenCFO with the most important asset to become not a startup, but a large competitor in the fintech industry. The company focuses on automation facilitated by AI and knows well the financial intricacies of mid-market businesses, hence it is already on the path of automating the office of the CFO.

With Prudhvi Rao Shedimbi and Sankalp Singayapally in charge of the growth of their engineering capacity and venturing into new international markets, the future of their early pilot projects promises to be a bright one. OpenCFO is not merely offering a software solution to the world but is also empowering a new level of operational excellence to global finance teams by lowering expenses, enhancing settlement efficiencies, etc.

Snabbit seeks capital infusion at a valuation of approximately $450 million

Snabbit $450 million valuation

Snabbit, a Bengaluru-based fast service platform, is the leading figure in this change process and is currently in active negotiations to attract a new round of funding. TechCrunch has reported that the startup is in need of this amount of capital infusion at a valuation of around $450 million.

This hypothetical valuation increase represents a colossal increase compared to its last round of Series C, which valued the company at $180 million only a few months ago, in October 2025. This fast increase in value explains the massive investor confidence that Snabbit possesses in its ability to structure an informal and localized market that previously had been informal.

Landscape and funding

Under the direction of its founder and CEO, Aayush Agarwal, who was the former chief of staff at Zepto, the quick-commerce giant, Snabbit has been able to turn the 10-minute delivery philosophy and put it to use in household tasks. The firm has already raised approximately $56 million in various financing rounds in the first 18 months of its existence in 2024.

The ongoing discussion of Series D round funding is occurring at a point when VC interest in the on-demand home services industry is increasingly heated, even as the rest of the world’s startup funding environment is decelerating. The magnitude of the opportunity is also becoming a major attraction to investors since today the market of household-help in India is estimated to bring an approximate of $60 billion, and it may reach a mark of even $100 billion by the close of the decade.

The Indian domestic help market is currently facing a high demand, yet a low digital penetration. India has less than 1% of paid household help booked online, and a huge white space exists that can be filled by tech-enabled aggregators. The model developed by Snabbit focuses on the most significant issues of urban households, i.e., the absence of reliability, transparency of the prices, and the inability to get assistance, with the help of which short-term tasks can be performed.

The platform has reorganized a different category of high-frequency home services by making services such as cleaning, dishwashing, washing, and preparing food available on an hourly basis. This strategy targets the increasing number of two-income families and young professionals in metros who are not willing to make the long-term commitment of full-time domestic help, but would rather have ad hoc, flexible assistance.

Growth and operational philosophy

The rise of Snabbit has been meteoric. The platform had, in February 2026, handled more than 8.3 lakh orders with a leading spot in some of its active micro-markets. The average number of jobs per day at the startup is approximately 35,000 jobs per day in its network within the National Capital Region, India, and Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune. This book places it head-to-head with major players in the industry, such as InstaHelp of Urban Company and other startups, such as Pronto.

This is a competitive market, and the amount of cash burnt is high as the sector works to keep pace with establishing density in high-density residential areas. Although the industry-wide losses have been of concern, Snabbit has announced that its older micro-markets have started to show profitability, with the company moving away with aggressive discounting and focusing its attention on operational excellence and unit economics.

The core consumer of Snabbit operation is its women workforce of 12,000, who are 100% women. Snabbit also takes a full-stack strategy to its workforce, sourcing, training, and managing it in-house, unlike traditional marketplaces that simply connect users with freelancers. Such a model provides the platform with an opportunity to have high-quality control and offer standardized services.

The company has recently introduced an AI-powered safety infrastructure called Snabbit Kavach as a way of guaranteeing the safety of its workers. This system is proactive and tracks the presence of risk signals when the posts are in progress, like abnormal device movement or alarming audio, and the worker does not need to manually initiate an SOS. Snabbit is formalizing an unorganized workforce by offering it Aadhaar-linked bank accounts and insurance.

Conclusion

Recently, Snabbit acquired the founding team of its competitor, Pync which added experienced operations resources to scale its workforce. The new capital in the form of the $450 million valuation round will most likely be used to roll out new micro-markets as well as expansion into related high-frequency segmentation, including professional cooking, childcare, and elderly care. As Snabbit further penetrates the urban India market, its success will be determined by whether it can continue to fulfill its 10-minute service promise, with the complexity of operating in such a human-centric environment.

Boba Bhai secured $4.3 million in a fresh funding round led by 8i Ventures

Boba Bhai $4.3 million funding

Boba Bhai is a QSR chain with rapid expansion. Boba Bhai has secured a fresh round of funding amounting to $4.3 million (approximately ₹40 crore). This capital injection is led by current investor 8i Ventures. It highlights how much confidence institutional investors have that the company will be in a position to expand its activities and control the cool beverage and snacking market in India.

New investment and primary objective

The current round of new investment is a strategic continuity of earlier rounds that indicate that the performance metrics of this brand have succeeded in fulfilling the expectations of its initial sponsors. In the case of 8i Ventures, investing in Boba Bhai is the manifestation of confidence in the sustainability of the bubble tea trend that has already become more than a curiosity of urban elites and a popular beverage among Gen Z and millennial generations in India. The investment gives the company the much-needed dry powder to sail through the competitive retailing environment and yet break through its product offerings.

The ultimate goal of this round of financing is one of the main aims of the $4.3 million funds, namely, the acceleration of the physical and online growth of Boba Bhai. Previously, founder Dhruv Kohli has suggested that he has an ambitious target of expanding to more than 150 stores, and this new capital is the steam that will propel such an expansion.

The approach aims to further enter established markets while also exploring new frontiers where demand for modern, high-quality QSR experiences is underrepresented. To enhance performance, delivery efficiency, and brand visibility, Boba Bhai has to increase the number of stores it has.

The growth is not only physical storefronts, but also the reinforcement of the company’s background infrastructure, supply chain, and logistics to ensure that the quality of its bubble tea and burgers is maintained regardless of whether ordered in-store or via a mobile application.

Cross-category appeal and omnichannel approach

The difference in Boba Bhai compared to other QSR competitors lies in its unique product combination. Boba Bhai has managed to combine the bubble tea hype with the global cultural phenomenon of K-Pop by incorporating the latter into its offerings with the outward likeness of K-Pop Burgers.

This cross-category appeal enables the brand to command a larger portion of the consumer’s wallet. The bubble tea products offer a high-margin, customizable beverage experience, whereas the burgers are a significant food element that influences the increase in average order values.

The statistics of the brand business show that this hybrid model is striking a chord with the customers. Boba Bhai is ranked in the cheap luxury category of the QSR with a mean order value of over ₹400. This is evidenced by the fact that the brand is able to retain a repeat customer rate of about 48% due to the quality of its products and brand loyalty. Such a retention rate is critical in a startup at the growth phase, as it saves customer acquisition cost in the long term and creates a long-term profit-making base.

The modern digital-first economy has seen Boba Bhai take an intricate omnichannel strategy to access its customers. Digital channel platforms bring in about 70% of the orders placed on the brand, whether it is on its own or the major third-party online aggregators such as Zomato, Swiggy, and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This intensive digital mix enables the company to thrive even in expensive city centers through a cloud-plus-store approach to the physical location that includes a walk-in customer based on physical premises as well as high-volume delivery orders.

The other 30% of the sales are through physical stores, which are critical in brand experience and sensory marketing. Such a compromise between the convenience of digital and physical interaction is one of the cornerstones of the operational strategy of Boba Bhai, and the new investment is likely to be spent on further refining this digital interface and improving the in-store experience of customers.

Conclusion

The 8i Ventures-led successful $4.3 million funding round is a milestone event in the life of Boba Bhai since it will be a national player, not a regional one. The company has proven its business model and been able to perform in a difficult market by getting the backing of its current supporters. With its growth to the 150-store mark, Boba Bhai stands at a good place to leverage the growing consumer demand for experiences related to specialized, culturally oriented food and beverage.

Having one of the strongest priorities on operational efficiency, product innovation, and a vigorous expansion plan, the brand will be at the forefront of transforming the modern QSR market in India.